Usurper Reborn v0.8 - Combat AI & Royal Systems Update

This release brings major improvements to NPC teammate AI in combat, a new Royal Blessing system, enhanced Castle throne room interactions, and numerous bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements.

Highlights

Intelligent NPC Teammate Combat AI

Your NPC teammates are now much smarter in combat! They will:

• Cast offensive spells - Spell-casting classes (Magician, Sage, Cleric, Paladin, Bard) now use attack spells against enemies
• Use class abilities - Each class has unique combat abilities:
  • Warrior: Power Attack (2x damage at cost of 5% HP)
  • Ranger: Multi-Shot (hits up to 3 targets)
  • Assassin: Backstab (1.5x damage, 40% crit chance for 3x)
  • Paladin: Holy Smite (weapon + holy damage)
  • Bard: Inspire (heals entire party)
• Heal more intelligently - Healers now heal at 70% HP, other classes at 50%, with self-preservation at 25%

Royal Systems

• Royal Blessing - The King can now bestow a Royal Blessing upon worthy subjects, granting +10% to all combat stats for a full day
• Enhanced Throne Room - Expanded castle throne room with royal audiences, blessings, political intrigue, and more court interactions
• King's Favor System - Build reputation with the crown through quests and service

Old God Boss Improvements

• Boss abilities now properly scale with combat phase:
  • Phase 1: 100% of boss Strength
  • Phase 2: 150% of boss Strength
  • Phase 3: 200% of boss Strength
• Team members (companions and NPC teammates) now properly participate in Old God boss fights
• Boss room behavior fixed: rooms with already-defeated Old Gods show "The chamber is empty" instead of spawning regular monsters

New Features

• NPC Equipment System - NPCs now spawn with appropriate equipment based on their class and level
  • Weapons selected by class preference (Warriors get swords, Mages get staves, etc.)
  • Armor equipped based on budget and class restrictions
  • Higher level NPCs have better gear
• Companion XP Display - Companions now show their XP progress during combat victory screens, just like NPC teammates
• Dungeon Entry Fee System - Teammates who are significantly overleveled for a dungeon floor must pay an entry fee
• Royal Blessing Status Effect - New status effect providing +10% to accuracy, damage, and defense

Bug Fixes

• Street Encounters - Romantic partners (spouses, lovers) no longer appear as hostile random encounters on the street
• Auto-Combat Message - Changed "Press any key to stop" to "Press Enter to stop" for clarity
• Old God Boss Respawn - Fixed issue where bosses wouldn't respawn if player exited mid-combat without completing the fight
• Symbol Puzzle Uniqueness - Ensured all puzzle symbols are unique (no duplicates)
• Boss Damage Calculation - Fixed Old God bosses dealing only 1 damage

Technical Improvements

• Refactored debug print statements across various systems for cleaner output
• Improved equipment database initialization and access patterns
• Enhanced save system with better equipment persistence
• Cleaned up obsolete documentation files